Two new Aceria species (Acari: Eriophyidae) from Lorestan province of Iran

During a survey of the eriophyoid mites in Lorestan province of Iran two new eriophyoid mites described and illustrated: Aceria poldokhtariensis Lotfollahi & Bahirai sp. nov. from Populus euphratica Oliv. (Salicaceae) and Aceria torilarvensis Lotfollahi & Bahirai sp. nov. from Torilis arvensis (Huds.) Link (Apiaceae). They are the first eriophyoid mites collected on P. euphratica and T. arvensis respectively, and the later one is the first Aceria species found on plants of genus Torilis.

UPLC-ESI-MS/MS and Various Chromatographic Technique for Identification of Phytochemicals in Populus euphratica Oliv. Leaves Extract

The aim of this study is to screen the phytochemicals found in Populus euphratica leaves since this type of trees are used traditionally by many villagers as treatment for eczema and other skin disease and also this plant is poorly investigated for their phytochemicals especially in Iraq. Phytochemical screening of the extracts obtained from the n-hexane and chloroform fraction of leaves of Populus euphratica was done by Thin-layer chromatography and various spraying reagents to test if alkaloids, sterols and other compounds are present. UPLC-electrospray ionization –tandem mass spectroscopy along with GC-MS and HPTLC are used to identify the phytochemicals present in the plant leaves.UPLC-ESI-MS/MS method 20 compounds have been identified in various fractions among which are protopine alkaloids. salicin, salicortin, tremulacin. GC-MS showed that the observed data obtained are matched with that in NIST library and confirmed the presence of Hexadecanoic acid trimethylsilyl ester in 43.80% beta-Sitosterol in 37.14% and Diisooctyl phthalate 11.46%.UPLC-ESI-MS/MS is a powerful method for the identification of compounds in mixture based on comparison of their molecular, weight retention time and MS/MS fragmentation. Protopine alkaloid is identified for the first time in Populus euphratica and genus Populus. GC-MS is a valuable method for both qualification and quantification of various phytochemicals that are volatile in nature Keywords: Populus euphratica, GC-MS, phytochemical, UPLC-ESI-MS/MS

Regulatory networks of circRNAs related to transcription factors in Populus euphratica Oliv. heteromorphic leaves

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a novel class of non-coding RNAs that are characterized by a covalently closed circular structure. They have been widely found in Populus euphratica Oliv. heteromorphic leaves (P. hl). To study the role of circRNAs related to transcription factors (TFs) in the morphogenesis of P. hl, the expression profiles of circRNAs in linear, lanceolate, ovate, and broad-ovate leaves of P. euphratica were elucidated by strand-specific sequencing. We identified and characterized 22 circRNAs related to TFs in P. hl at the four developmental stages. Using the competing endogenous RNAs hypothesis as a guide, we constructed circRNA–miRNA–TF mRNA regulatory networks, which indicated that circRNAs antagonized microRNAs (miRNAs), thereby influencing the expression of the miRNA target genes and playing a significant role in transcriptional regulation. Gene ontology annotation of the target TF genes predicted that these circRNAs were associated mainly with the regulation of leaf development, leaf morphogenesis, signal transduction, and response to abiotic stress. These findings implied that the circRNAs affected the size and number of cells in P. hl by regulating the expression of TF mRNAs. Our results provide a basis for further studies of leaf development in poplar trees.